Making a Meshtastic Pager with the Heltec LoRa 32 V3

I DO NOT SELL THESE, but you can order these from a couple of sellers online. I AM NOT AFFILIATED WITH THESE STORES and do not make any money from them. If you have any issues with your purchase, PLEASE CONTACT THEM DIRECTLY:

Welcome back to Random Alley Cat. In today’s video, we’re diving back into the world of Meshtastic with a hands-on project that’s both fun and functional. I’m going to show you how to assemble a Meshtastic Pager using the Heltec LoRa 32 V3 and a custom 3D printed case I designed, affectionately named the Alley Chat HT Pocket.

This compact and snug-fitting case is perfect for your Meshtastic adventures, but a word of caution – it’s tight! So take your time and be gentle during assembly to avoid any mishaps.

The Alley Chat HT Pocket case is available for download on Printables, so you can print it yourself and follow along as we put this little device together. Whether you’re into DIY electronics, LoRa communication, or just love a good tech project, this video is for you.

Join me as I guide you through each step of the assembly process, sharing tips and tricks along the way. By the end, you’ll have a sleek, portable Meshtastic Pager ready for action. Perfect for staying connected off the grid or experimenting with the fascinating world of LoRa networks.

#LoRa #meshtastic #pager #nostalgia #heltec #prepper #alleychat

TIMESTAMPS
00:00 Intro
00:45 Assembly
05:32 The Holster
07:52 What's Next?

[firewolf]

This random video has changed the trajectory of my life over the past month. Now I have 3 of these things and am building a base station in our house and am out many hundreds of dollars - send help!

Thanks much Alley Cat!! This is wonderful :) It has gotten my entire family into a fun radio hobby we didn't know we wanted! And I can vouch for it - this is a fantastic and clean design that is addictive to put together, even when you don't have a reason to build one, the parts fit together so nicely... I had to make another! I wear mine daily and it's held up great (except for that one I left in the hot car one day lol).

[aarone.]

Wonderfully designed. Pry slot and the tethered buttons. Very well thought out!

[MontegaB]

Dude you are SO talented and creative it's insane. Thanks for sharing this case, it's so good.

[masondawson]

Wow! You've outdone yourself again! I use your other designs because I think they are the best, but THIS design... Finally a clip! The Baofeng clip is just brilliant, and I didn't even know how much I wanted the case. There are some pretty cool designs for the V3 out there, but this one ticks all the boxes, and then some. Just awesome!

[frankgerbaut]

So neat and smart ! Very pleasant to watch too. One thing that is conforting me a little in these troubled times is that there are so many talents every where and that some and i hope more and more are involved in open knowledge and sharing it like you do. It makes me want to contribute too but in some other field. Thank you very much and cheers from France :)

[bytesabre]

I really like this design. Like the pagers of old, it’s really practical.

Also that transparent pager. I want transparent stuff to come back into fashion

[GeneralGorrilla]

Phenomenal! There's real magic in this! I'll have to carefully study your case latch, it seems very robust.

[Doubleelforbes]

Your designs are incredible, really. Everything's thought out. And I say this with first hand experience of your famous T-Deck case. I started out slim but as I increased battery size 2-3x, I ended up with the thicc + GPS case. (Still cannot source an M100 or similar but patiently awaiting). With the big Paradar SMA antenna, ultimately it looks like a Blackberry had a baby with an original 80's Nokia! So Retro, So Future, So Nasty!

Then I decided meshtastic and ripple and others are far too simplistic for that gadget so have started building a CLI which hopefully leads to a GUI where I hope to make the LoRa way more general purpose, maybe even have multi protocol and/or LoRa packet sniffer.

[subdivo]

Absolutely love these designs! Looking forward to printing one for myself!

[chucky]

Ok that’s really, really clever use of the Heltec board. I forgot about pagers from my childhood. Now it’s back. Heh.

[HawaiianFlyGuy]

Very Impressive design. Video editing just keeps getting better too. Just so happens I have a Heltec V3 board on hand to give this design a print. Thank you!

[HobkinBoi]

I finally acquired a 3d printer and made one of these. I did have to grind out a small amount of plastic with my dremel to get my board to fit though, so I probably need to adjust some small stuff on the printer here and there. it's a very nice build though, even though I still need some other parts.

[WeirdOneOz]

Amazing job. Would never have thought of that format and design.

[wattsandhertz]

Stoked to see the new release! I remixed the tbeam case to have smaller buttons but didn't put it out. Still kind of in the testing phase but your designs are top notch!

[MyTubeUtoo]

Very cool. Can't wait for the next video, too. Thanks.

[ojuleko]

Holy crap that pager you showed brought back some memories. I had almost the same model but the buttons were black. That translucent green is amazing.

It was the only thing I’ve ever won. It was from a Donald Duck weekly comic book I’d read as a kid. 3 weeks in a row you had to solve the puzzle and send your answer in via snail mail. And I remember my friend from down the road running to me after he got back from the weekend shopping with his parents, shouting that I won something because my name is in the magazine. I didn’t use the thing w lot but I still have it as a memento.

[UncleCdy]

this is so cool, I'm printing it up as we speak

[ProjectGeek]

A pager case is what I've been looking for!

[shaun]

Awesome design as always! Keep em coming

[ehvway]

the coolest Alley Cat you can come across! Great projects ma'am! love your videos
❤
and great design too